Testing with FIX Protocol - BFSI Domain

Folks:

This is an interesting read. Keeping in mind that the many companies are trying to develop a level of competency to overall testing FIX protocol.

I had known that Capgemini has developed this with the help of Aegisoft and HP, but never knew that BreakingPoint Labs (http://www.breakingpointsystems.com/) has developed their own load testing tool, which will help to test the FIX Based applications.

Basics about FIX:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_Information_eXchange

http://www.cameronedge.com/fixwiki/FIXwiki

http://www.fixprotocol.org/products/

What it is:

The Financial Information eXchange (FIX) protocol is an electronic communications protocol initiated in 1992 for international real-time exchange of information related to the securities transactions and markets. With trillions of dollars traded annually on the NASDAQ alone, financial service entities are investing heavily in optimizing electronic trading and employing Direct Market Access (DMA) to increase their speed to financial markets. Managing the delivery of trading applications and keeping latency low increasingly requires an understanding of the FIX protocol

Companies providing QA solutions around it:

Capgemini Announces Comprehensive FIX Protocol Testing Accelerator for Financial Services Industry

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS216595+07-May-2009+BW20090507

"The traditional approach would be to carry out the tests over the phone and using paper test scripts that would have to be updated," to reflect whether or not connectivity had been successfully established, said Murat Asku, practice head of testing for capital markets at Capgeminis's financial services business group. "Our approach involves updating digital models of tags and messages of all the major asset classes."

The Capgemini accelerator, developed in conjunction with Hewlett Packard, Blueprint Systems and Aegisoft, streamlines the updating process and stabilizes the changes being introduced. The way messages are tested and what they're tested against also are standardized, reducing strain on quality assurance and IT departments.

Capgemini Financial Dips Into FIX Testing Waters

http://www.securitiesindustry.com/issues/19_96/-23496-1.html

"The traditional approach would be to carry out the tests over the phone and using paper test scripts that would have to be updated," to reflect whether or not connectivity had been successfully established, said Murat Asku, practice head of testing for capital markets at Capgeminis's financial services business group. "Our approach involves updating digital models of tags and messages of all the major asset classes."